Louisa's POV
Colt smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Flynn. I guess there are some strings inside the bird that needs to be fine-tuned. I'll take a look at it for you in the future."
Mrs. Flynn gently nodded her head and said, "OK. Do you want to stay here for lunch? I can cook some meat pies for you."
Colt walked the old lady into her yard and said, "You're very kind, Mrs. Flynn. I've just had a big breakfast. I have to go to the village and run some errands."
"OK. But please come back for some meat pies later," Mrs. Flynn insisted.
"I will. I will," Colt waved at her and walked out of the yard.
"What was that? You've made that intimidating iron bird for the old lady?" I asked.
"I sure did," Colt smiled proudly and rubbed his nose.
"But isn't that a bit dangerous...?" I frowned.
Colt curled up his lips and said, "Well, talking about real danger, you should see the way her nephews asked for the lease of her house."
I tightened my lips.
"Do they want this old lady's house?" I asked.
Colt nodded, "They wanted to drive Mr. Flynn away and take her land. She's like, already 89 years old. They can't even wait for one year or two. She's an old widow and she has nowhere to go. I guess her nephews just don't care."
"That's why you made that iron bird?" I asked.
Colt shook his head and said, "Not really. I made that bird because Mrs. Flynn's warbler died a few months ago. She was crying so hard because that bird used to sing to her at night. She has outlived so many pets in her life and she's always sad when those pets die. That's why she asked me to make her a mechanical bird to keep her company. So, the bird mostly sings and tweets. The automatic combat mode is just some sort of giveaway, you know, to ward off her nephews. It's a bluff, but it works."
"Wouldn't it hurt the old lady?" I asked.
"The bird recognizes the weight of Ms. Flynn, so it won't attack her."
"How did you do that?" Darren asked.
Colt shrugged, "It's realized by adding some sensors. It's not that difficult. Just add some springs and pull some strings. Here and there, you know..."
I looked into his eyes and said, "Colt! You're an amazing inventor! That's who you are! You design products and help people!"
Colt looked very pleased and flattered, but as he glanced at Darren, his smile was gone.
Darren looked very worried.
"What happened? You don't like my design?" Colt asked.
"I understand you want to help, but it might bring dangers to Mrs. Flynn."
Colt frowned and asked, "What do you mean? All my designs follow strict safety protocol..."
Darren replied, "I'm not talking about the bird. I'm talking about people. You've created an illusion to intentionally intimidate people. When they find out the truth, they might not like the fact that they were fooled and intimidated by a machine. Have you ever thought about the consequence of that?"
Colt was shocked for a while, then he grumbled, "I don't know, they might laugh it out or something. Who knows..."
"They will get angry, Colt. Machines can be shut down, people's anger can't. And angry people intend to do bad things. Then what will happen to that poor old lady?" Darren said.
Colt melted immediately when Darren called his name.
I guessed he just wasn't actually paying attention to what Darren said.
He just kept nodding his head in a dreamy mode.
I had to poke him to remind him that we had already arrived at Mountainside Village.
The villagers were curious when they saw unfamiliar faces, looking at us and chatting.
"Who are those people?"
"I don't know, but the warlock surely looks very enticing."
"Warlock? Colt's hanging out with a warlock now?"
"What's a warlock?"
"You stupid girl! A warlock is like a male prostitute. Rich people buy them and get entertained."
"Wow. So is that girl rich?"
"She doesn't come across as being rich to me. Look at what she's wearing!"
"She looks like a slut."
"Why does Colt hang out with people like that? I thought he was such a sweet boy."
"Go find yourself a real man, girl!"
I didn't want to hear them talking, but I couldn't shut off my ears.
I lowered my head and saw what I was wearing.
It was basically just a long torn blouse.
I pulled the hem of the blouse and tried to make it longer.
Colt saw me being uncomfortable, so he lowered his head and said to me, "Don't listen to them. They're always gossiping. I wish there was a button to shut them down."
I chuckled.
Colt's studio was located at the end of the main street. It was basically a small tool shed.
"I haven't got the land permit to build a house in this village, so I can only stay in a temporary shed. Next month I'll be able to get the permit," Colt said optimistically.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
"Please come inside and make yourself at home!" He gestured and smiled at us, "One quick reminder. Please don't touch anything."
Then, he disappeared behind a shelf.
As I walked into Colt's shed, I was astonished.
Rows of spotless tools were displayed neatly on the walls. I could only name half of them. Almost every inch of the room was covered by small parts and devices. I literally had nowhere to put my feet.
Darren looked very impressed as he was going through various styles of lighters exhibited on a wall.
He obviously didn't have to use them in his life, but he was obviously very curious.
"Do you like them? They are multi-purpose lighters!" Colt popped up from nowhere, holding a cup of tea in his hands.
"Multi-purpose?" Darren frowned.
Colt nodded and said, "Yeah, they are lighters and they can do other things."
Darren pointed at a black one and asked, "What does this one do?"
"Ah, this one!" Colt took it from the shelf and pulled a trigger on the lighter, a mirror popped up.
"Is that a mirror?" I asked.
"Wait for it." Colt wagged his finger and pulled the trigger again, the mirror disappeared and a fire popped up. Then, he kept clicking the trigger, a small fan popped up, then a pair of tweezers, a toothpick, a screwdriver, a quill, a small paper umbrella...
The alternation of things that popped up from the small lighter made me feel gobsmacked. But when I saw the umbrella, I knew I had to stop him.
"Wait, wait, wait..." I stopped him and asked, "I understand the rest of them, but what's with the paper umbrella?"
Colt picked up the umbrella, put it on the edge of the teacup, and handed it to me.
"To add some tropical flavor to our drinks," Colt said and cracked a big smile on his face.
"But how do you control which one pops up first?" I asked and carefully removed the umbrella from the teacup.
Somehow, I just couldn't put up with foreign objects in my tea. It didn't look very hygienic.
Colt's eyes were beaming with excitement.
"That's the most charming part of the design. You don't know what's going to pop up next! Just like our life, full of surprises." He said, waving the lighter in his hand like a flag.
A small wooden stick popped up from the lighter this time.
"What's that for...?" I asked, but I regretted it as soon as I asked.
"Nothing! It's just a senseless wooden stick! I put it inside because sometimes life doesn't make any sense to us, does it?" Colt said and winked at me.
"Let me show you the rest of my inventory!"